Irish government must show ‘courage and openness’ on legacy – DUP’s Robinson

The Irish government must show “courage and openness” to change its own approach to delivering answers about the Troubles, DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said.

Mr Robinson was commenting after meeting Tanaiste Simon Harris in Belfast to discuss legacy issues.

The DUP leader said while there was currently focus on how the UK government intended to change provisions of the controversial Legacy Act, he said the authorities in Dublin also needed to do more to deliver truth and justice for victims.

In particular he cited the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, as he claimed a recent Irish government agreement to provide information to the UK inquiry did not go far enough.

Mr Robinson was one of several political leaders to hold talks with Mr Harris in Parliament Buildings, Stormont, on Monday.

“I reiterated the points that I have made publicly over the last number of months, about our disappointment with their state and their approach to legacy in Northern Ireland, how for decades now the Irish government have been found wanting in their approach to legacy,” the DUP leader told reporters afterwards.

“How we’ve never seen the establishment of a legacy investigatory body (in Ireland), we’ve had a reluctance to agree to extraditions or support for the criminal justice process in Northern Ireland (during the Troubles) and, more recently, the memorandum of understanding that was agreed with the Omagh Bomb Inquiry falls far short of what they need to do from their level of introspection.”

He added: “So there are discussions that we have had, they were useful discussions. He (Mr Harris) knows clearly our position, and it was a good opportunity for us to reaffirm our desire to see the Republic of Ireland government do more for victims in Northern Ireland, and in answering some of those long-term burning issues that we have had.”

Mr Robinson continued: “The point I was making today with the Irish foreign minister was that they have questions to answer too. It’s not all about looking at what the UK government was doing or did do. There are questions that the Irish state have to answer, and I hope they have the courage and the openness to do so.”

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’Neill, who also met Mr Harris on Monday, said it was time to properly deal with the issue of legacy.

“I hope that we can get an agreement, but it has to be one that commands the confidence of families and those groups out there that support families,” said Stormont’s First Minister.

“We’ve been so many times brought to this juncture and then stepped back, the Stormont House Agreement (2014) was the way forward.

“Here we are again in 2025 talking about this again. I want us to be able to properly deal with the past, but it must be human rights compliant. It must command the confidence of the families and it must allow, finally, the opportunity for families to get some closure.”

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long urged the UK government to “deliver what it has promised” on legacy.

“I think all of us would want to see the legacy process able to proceed in a way that can bring maximum confidence, truth and justice to victims of the Troubles,” she said.

“It’s also important I think that it is compliant with the law, and so I think there is a real challenge now for the UK government to step up and deliver what it has promised, which is the repeal of the old legislation and significant improvements to the process going forward.”

Ms Long said she also raised the issue of Irish government co-operation with the Omagh Bombing Inquiry with the Tanaiste.

“A lot of years have passed, but the pain is still real for those families, and it’s important that they don’t feel that they are being frustrated further by a lengthy process,” she said.

On dealing with legacy issues in general, Ms Long added: “I think now is the time to make this happen, and I think it’s important that the (UK) government moves forward quickly in terms of trying to find consensus around how this will actually be implemented going forward.”

After her meeting with Mr Harris, SDLP leader Claire Hanna said a “window” had emerged for the UK and Irish governments to seek consensus on legacy.

“We welcome the fact that there is at least a restatement of that co-guarantor role (of the Good Friday Agreement), the fact that there is a joint effort on legacy between both governments,” she said.

“But we will be judging them on outcomes, and I think people will view what comes out of the legacy process based on how it affects families that they know, families like the Browns (family of murdered GAA official Sean Brown), people like Alan Black (survivor of 1976 Kingsmill massacre), who have waited so long to get the truth and justice they deserve.

“There is a window here. There is a moment, a moral moment, to get things right for victims and survivors who have been let down for decades, to get it right, not just for the past, but for the future as well, to allow society and so many families to move on.”